1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet feeder provided in recording apparatuses, such as printers.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in recording apparatuses, such as personal color printers, a recording apparatus in which a feeding unit, which supplies paper to a sheet recording region of the recording apparatus, is arranged on the front side of the apparatus is increasing with a view to improving operability for the user. Moreover, a recording apparatus is increasing in which the user operability of a sheet is improved by providing a feeding unit with two sheet stacking parts capable of sorting and setting regular paper and gloss paper for photo printing independently.
Sheet feeding and conveying mechanisms in related-art printers will now be described.
For example, a related-art printer shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-338070 is arranged so that portions of a plurality of feeding trays overlap each other vertically. The size of sheets in a stacking direction is able be made small by arranging a feeding roller of a lower-stage feeding tray at a position where the feeding roller does not overlap an upper-stage feeding tray.
In a paper cassette described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S61-277525, a secondary paper accommodating portion is arranged above a cassette body. A smaller size of paper than the cassette body is accommodated in the secondary paper accommodating portion. The secondary paper accommodating portion is retracted in a direction opposite to a feeding direction when the paper in the cassette body is fed, and a feeding roller feeds the paper stacked in the cassette body. When the paper stacked in the secondary paper accommodating portion is fed, the secondary paper accommodating portion is advanced in the feeding direction, and the paper in the secondary paper accommodating portion is fed by the feeding roller.
However, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-338070 is able to realize miniaturization in the sheet stacking direction (height direction), by limiting the paper width size of the upper-stage feeding cassette 103 to a small size. Therefore, the upper-stage feeding cassette 103 cannot be adapted so as to cope with even sheets of the same maximum size as the lower-stage feeding cassette 104. That is, sheets, such as regular paper, and gloss paper for photo printing of maximum size, cannot be simultaneously set through the configuration having the two sheet stacking and supplying parts.
Therefore, in a case where the gloss paper for photo printing of maximum size or the like is set, there is a problem in that inconvenience occurs such that sheets should be replaced and set with respect to a feeding cassette (lower-stage feeding cassette 103) capable of setting sheets of maximum size.
On the other hand, the same size of paper is able to be accommodated in the sheet width direction in the paper cassette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S61-277525.
However, since paper to be fed is selected by advancing or retracting the secondary paper accommodating portion in the feeding direction with respect to the cassette body, there is a problem in that the size in the feeding direction has to be limited to a small size.